Biological mechanisms of somatic symptoms in depressive disorder

The symptoms of depressive disorder can be summarized into three dimensions: emotional symptoms, cognitive symptoms and somatic symptoms.Most patients with depressive disorders have various somatic symptoms. The existence of somatic symptoms is often related to the severity of the disease, poor efficacy, and prolonged disease duration.Depressive disorder with somatic symptoms may be a special subtype of depressive disorder.Therefore exploration for its biological mechanisms has an important significance in such patients.This article reviews the clinical characteristics, definitions, and biological mechanisms of somatic symptoms in depressive disorder, and hopes to contribute to an improved understanding of the pathology of depressive disorders. Key words: Depressive disorder; Somatic symptoms; Biological mechanism